Salsa Cycles Fargo Page

Wednesday, January 17, 2007

More On Wheels: In addition to yesterdays post on my new "Chocolate Chip" wheels, (I hope they don't become "potatoe chip" wheels anytime soon!) I have some other things happening in the 29"er wheel department to look forward to. One is a new wheelset featuring a newly released 29"er specific, disc only rim from Velocity, another wheelset that's coming down the pike is a proprietary spoke and hub arrangement in a cool ano color, and finally a wheelset that will help revolutionize the 29"er as we know it in a "legitimate" fashion. Sorry about all the hints, but I'll have the news posted on Twenty Nine Inches as soon as they hit my hands and some pics will show up here and there.

Update on the XXIX+G: I have posted my first ride impressions on the RaleighXXIX+G over at Twenty Nine Inches. Be sure to check that out. The bike will be a test sled for alot of incoming product over the next few months. I suspect that way I'll get a really good feel for the frame and be able to put the core parts of the bike through the wringer. Look for alot of pics of this black beauty to be showing up over the course of '07.

Trans Iowa Update: Those of you out there that are in this event or are just following along will be interested to know that the cue sheet process is under way. The course has been finalized and it's a doozy! By far the most scenic and challenging one yet. And that's without the weather factor thrown into the mix!

The gravel in Iowa is all frozen solid now and under a bit of snow pack here and there. This will assure us of gooey, messy glop whenever it decides to unfreeze. The ground moisture was at a saturation point when things finally got cold, so that moisture will be just waiting to turn the roads into peanut butter come thaw time. Obviously that should be well before the event, so why bother? Well, it would seem to me that this would require a bit more early season maintenance than before, which might see the course covered in more fresh gravel than in previous years. We'll see.

Jeff and I will probably put out a call about a month prior to the event to see who's in and who's out so we can guage the number of cue sheets we'll need to print off. We don't want a repeat of last year, when I took home over twenty sets of unused cue sheets. That's a lot of wasted work for us that we'd like to avoid if possible. Please, do us a favor if something comes up, or you just decide to not do T.I.V3. Let us know. It's appreciated and would save alot of effort. An e-mail would be great! The link is on the right side bar or on the Trans Iowa website.